Graeme Baxter and Rita Marcella Dept. Dept. of of Inf nfor orma - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum A study of voters’ online information behaviour Graeme Baxter and Rita Marcella Dept. Dept. of of Inf nfor orma mation tion Mana anagement, R gement, Rober obert G t Gor ordon U don Univ niver ersity ity, , Aber Aberdeen, deen, UK

Thursday, 18 th September 2014 The Referendum on Independence for Scotland Images: Electoral Commission

Aims of User Study  Identify motivations for, and barriers to, public use of campaign sites  Investigate the types of information, tools and technologies voters most value  Assess the likelihood of campaign sites being visited again  Explore the extent to which they influence voting behaviour

User Study  Used the ‘interactive, electronically - assisted interview’ method  So far, interviews conducted in:- - Robert Gordon University library - Aberdeen’s busiest community centre - a church serving Commonwealth citizens  Plans to conduct further interviews in:- - a care home for older people - a sports centre  Used laptop with mobile broadband ‘dongle’; iPad; and smartphone

Profile of Sample (to date)  54 interviews conducted so far  22 male, 32 female; from a range of age groups  29 in employment, 4 seeking work, 21 students  48 eligible to vote in referendum, 46 will definitely be voting  Majority were regular and confident computer and Internet users  Just 3 had never used social media

Need for Concise Policy Documents  Reluctance to look at the Scottish Government’s White Paper (670 pp) or other lengthy and wordy policy documents  Preference for concise documents and statements (e.g. Better Together’s 2 - to 3-page factsheets)

Positive About the Use of Infographics

Need For ‘Facts’ Rather Than Opinion -Based Information  Unconvinced by over- reliance on opinions of ‘ordinary people’  Instead expressed a need for ‘facts’ about the impact of independence or of remaining in the UK

Sceptical About Impartiality and Reliability of Information Presented  General acknowledgement of likely bias in information presented  Need expressed for more information on sources sources of data/statistics presented

Further Levels of Cynicism  Cynical about some of the imagery used  Cynical about the use of celebrity endorsements

Post-Search Evaluative Questions  91% thought campaign sites are a useful way of providing information  91% found them easy to use  89% found the content interesting  93% found the content easy to understand  65% might look at campaign sites again before 18 th September

But…  Just 37% described the information as ‘very’ or ‘quite’ reliable  For 75% the campaign sites had no influence on their voting intentions  Instead, a continued preference for ‘traditional’ information sources and campaign methods